Temperatures fell below freezing early Saturday, the first freeze in New York City this year, but clear skies allowed us to get back to 40 by the afternoon, and the River remains a source of warmth for the time being as well. The North River anchorages remain in demand, with Kimberly Poling remaining off 72nd Street since Friday afternoon, and Timothy, Gracie, and Kristy Ann Reinauer all lined up off Edgewater, plus several more tug/tanker barge combinations sitting off Yonkers.

Another harbinger of winter was the arrival of a tanker barge at Pier 98, the fuel dock for Con Ed’s 59th Street Steam Plant. The plant mainly burns natural gas brought in by pipe, but number 4 fuel oil is used as a backup during periods of tight natural gas supply and during preparations for the winter season. Fuel is brought to the plant by barge and stored on the barge during the winter (see my June article in the West Sid Rag, or a more recent article in the Villager not by me for more). The barge itself, GCS230, belongs to Gellaty and Criscione Services and, according to an article by Andrew Gustafson published by Waterfront Alliance a few years ago, it is the last remaining operating vessel afloat built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.